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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25901701">i’ll be there for you</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skywaulker/pseuds/Skywaulker'>Skywaulker</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Gen, because why not, post Boiling Rock, ship or no ship, sokka and zuko are at least friends, sokka swears twice, the world may never know</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 12:28:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,038</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25901701</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skywaulker/pseuds/Skywaulker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Boiling Rock rescue, Sokka is starting to realise that maybe, just maybe, Zuko isn’t really THAT bad.</p><p>or;</p><p>sokka and zuko r friends deal w/it</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sokka &amp; Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>85</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>i’ll be there for you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>eee hi there!!! this is the first time i’m posting a piece of my writing on here, and it’s the first time i’ve ever written anything in the atla universe, so pls be gentle w me. &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
From the moment Zuko had uttered the words : “hello, Zuko here”, Sokka had been skeptical; and with good reason. Before them stood a boy who had chased them across the world, claiming to have changed, claiming to be good, and he wanted to be a part of the gaang ( as if! ). Sokka didn’t buy it at first, obviously— Zuko was, after all, a menace to society ( not to mention that horrible ponytail he’d once adorned. for that he deserved to be hated ), and needed to be treated as such.<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
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But, like a wart, Zuko ended up growing on Sokka. He didn’t necessarily trust him at first, but he realised that without the ponytail, Zuko wasn’t quite unbearable ( and, he made surprisingly good tea, so keeping him around wasn’t as much of a nightmare as Sokka initially thought it would be ).<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
Sure, it was weird having Zuko around without him trying to attack them and snatch Aang, perhaps even a little awkward. Sokka had tried to spark up conversations with the other boy a lot of times, but he mostly got one-syllable answers, or just nods. Sokka had figured the prince’s people skills weren’t as polished as his scalp had been back in the days with the horrible ponytail ( yes, Sokka would bring it up on every occasion. No, he would not regret it ), but they could work on that. As long as Zuko was on their team, they could work on it together, teach him how to act like a decent human being ( because boy, he needed some lessons in anger management. Sokka had too much fun teasing him, and Zuko was so easy to rile up ).<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
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After their excursion to the boiling rock, something had changed between them; their dynamic, it was different. Sokka had finally found it in him to trust their former enemy, he even would go as far to admit that he enjoyed Zuko’s company. Of course, their conversations were still short, if not a little one-sided, but Sokka had quickly realised that’s just how Zuko was as a person— the silent, brooding type, and with some time, Sokka could learn to appreciate that about him. He had, after all, risked his life in order to save Sokka’s dad, and Sokka may not have been that good at expressing it, but he really did appreciate it. He was sure he must’ve thanked Zuko a thousand times by now, and he would probably do it a few more times.<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
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Everyone had gone off to bed approximately an hour ago, Sokka had, too, but he had trouble sleeping; the clouds covered the moon, and he always found it hard to sleep when he couldn’t see it. After about an hour of tossing and turning, he’d admitted defeat and had decided to walk around the temple for a bit. While the others had previously gone exploring, Sokka had been busy twisting and turning his brain around, trying to figure out their next move against the fire nation; so he didn’t really feel bad about taking some time to actually explore and relax.<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
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He walked around for a while, lost in his own thoughts. He didn’t have a destination in mind, he hardly even took the time to actually explore; he was busy wandering around mindlessly, before he eventually ended up right outside Zuko’s room. Sokka didn’t know why he was there, but something in him told him to knock on the door, so he did. He had never been one to ignore his instincts ( after all, his instincts were always right ).<br/>
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No answer. He knocked again. Still no answer. Sokka was about to turn around and leave, when the door suddenly opened, revealing a very obviously tired Zuko.<br/>
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“What do you want?” Zuko asked, voice hoarse, laced with sleep.<br/>
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“Shit, I’m sorry,” sokka stuttered out, visibly uncomfortable. “I didn’t realise you were sleeping.”<br/>
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“I wasn’t.”<br/>
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“Oh. Okay, I’ll just—” Sokka was cut off by Zuko, who had taken a step to the side, motioning for Sokka to come inside. “Oh, right. Yeah.”<br/>
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The room was cleaner than it had been when Zuko had first arrived, Sokka noticed, and he suspected it had something to do with Zuko’s high standards ( after all, he had lived a luxurious life lately, as sokka could imagine, so he was bound to have some standards ). On his nightstand, which was more of a stone, really, stood a picture of a man Sokka quickly recognized as Iroh. Normally, he would’ve commented on it, but he knew Zuko and Iroh’s relationship was a bit strained at the moment ( what, with the betrayal and all ), so he decided against it. He cleared his throat.<br/>
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“So, I just wanted to say thank you.”<br/>
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“You’ve said that already.”<br/>
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Yeah, no shit.⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
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“No, I mean, really, Zuko,” Sokka sighed, sitting down at the edge of Zuko’s bed, hoping the other boy didn’t mind. “You risked your life for my father, a man you don’t even know.”<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
“You know him.”<br/>
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
“Well, yes, he is my father. But that’s not my po—”<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
“You care about him.”<br/>
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
“Yeah, of cou—”<br/>
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“I did what any friend would do.” Zuko shrugged.<br/>
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⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
Friend. If someone had told Sokka a few weeks ago that Zuko would ever call the two of them friends, Sokka would have laughed in their face. But now, Sokka couldn’t help the warm feeling rising in his chest as a smile appeared on his lips.<br/>
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“But that’s the thing, Zuko. It was a dangerous mission, and while I appreciate you coming along, I never would’ve expected it from you. i wouldn’t have expected it from anyone.” he paused, taking a deep breath. “I guess what i’m saying is that— fuck— thank you. Seriously, thank you so much. For helping me save my dad, and for saving Suki. I couldn't have done it without you. So thank you.”<br/>
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
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“That’s seven.”<br/>
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“What?” Sokka raised an eyebrow, confusion evident on his face. “Seven what?”<br/>
⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀<br/>
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“It’s the seventh time you’ve thanked me.”<br/>
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Sokka wasn’t sure, but he could’ve sworn he saw Zuko smirk, and in the friendliest way possible, sokka wanted to punch the stupid smirk off his face. Still, he let a laugh escape his lips, finally accepting that they were, in fact, friends.</p>
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